Hyderabad, Oct. 31 (NSS): Congress president Rahul Gandhi has expressed his solidarity with academic writer Prof. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd against the Delhi University’s recommendation to remove the author’s three books (Why I am not a Hindu, Post-Hindu India and God as Political Philosopher and Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism) from its Political Science curriculum.
In a letter to Prof. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd on October 26, Rahul Gandhi stated, “the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) fascism is apparent in the move. Their aggressive move to propagate a unilateral view of Hinduism is deplorable. The fact is, that your books have been a part of the University’s syllabus for over a decade, without any questions being raised on their impact on the minds of the students.
Now the RSS, which cannot boast of any intellectual or academic capital, is seeking to destroy academic integrity by silencing diverse voices. This is part of their larger design to keep the Sudras and Dalits disempowered. “I hope that the Academic Council rejects this move by the Delhi University’s Standing Committee on Academic matters and students are able to read divergent views and form their own opinions instead of toeing the line of the RSS”.
Prof. Kancha Ilaiah, who received the Congress president’s letter on Tuesday, profusely thanked Rahul Gandhi for supporting his books being taught in Delhi University. He said the AICC has taken a pluralist stand for maintaining high standards in the Indian Universities. (NSS)
